Los Angeles Times Bestsellers

Fiction weeks on list 1.A Mercy by Toni Morrison (Knopf: $23.95) A slave girl is sold by her mother in late 1600's America to give her a better life.1 2.Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $19.99) Bella must choose between her lover and a friend, between life and death. 19 3.The Gate House by Nelson DeMille (Grand Central: $27.99) A man and his ex-wife attempt to reconcile years after her affair with a mob boss.4 4.Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown: $22.99) The final book in the Twilight saga finds Bella choosing immortality.165.The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb (Harper: $29.95) A couple seeks to reconstruct their lives after a tragic school shooting in Colorado.16.A Most Wanted Man by John le Carré (Scribner: $28) Turkish Muslims in Germany take in a homeless man who turns out to be a terrorist. 57.Divine Justice by David Baldacci (Grand Central: $27.99) A government assassin is hunted down after avenging his wife's death.28.The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (Dial Press: $22) A writer corresponds with islanders after German occupation. 169.The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski (Ecco: $25.95) A mute dog breeder is banished by his uncle à la "Hamlet." 19 10.The Widows of Eastwick by John Updike (Knopf: $24.95) After years of traveling and remarriage, the witches return to where the mischief began3 11.2666 by Roberto Bolano (Farrar, Straus and Giroux: $30) Hundreds of young factory workers disappear in a U.S.-Mexico border town.1 12.The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown: $26.99) A luckless attorney defends a studio executive accused of offing his wife and her lover.6 13.Extreme Measures by Vince Flynn (Atria: $27.95) CIA operative Mitch Rapp attempts to foil a terrorist plot on American soil while in Afghanistan.4 14.Brisingr by Christopher Paolini (Knopf: $27.50) Eragon, along with his dragon Saphira, must unite the rebel forces to defeat King Galbatorix.9 15.The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck (Publisher: $19.99) A boy learns about family, faith and forgiveness from a disappointing Christmas gift.1Nonfiction 1.Too Fat to Fish by Artie Lange (Spiegel & Grau: $24.95) The actor, comedian and Howard Stern sidekick shares his life stories.2 2.American Lion by Jon Meacham (Random House: $30) Andrew Jackson's path to the White House.1 3.Dewey by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter (Grand Central: $19.99) The impact a cat named Dewey Readmore Books had on an Iowa library and its patrons8 4.Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas L. Friedman (Farrar, Straus & Giroux: $27.95) Solutions to overpopulation and the global-warming crisis.115.Call Me Ted by Ted Turner (Grand Central: $30) The media mogul reveals his personal story of triumph and tragedy.16.You: Being Beautiful by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz (Free Press: $26.99) A scientific approach on the myths and stererotypes of how we define beauty. 17.Goodnight Bush by Erich Origen and Gan Golan (Little, Brown: $14.99) A parody of the children's classic "Goodnight Moon." 188.The Snowball by Alice Schroeder (Bantam: $35) The life and times of investor Warren Buffett, the "Oracle of Omaha."79.The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell ( Riverhead: $25.95) A profile of the Puritans who fought an early battle between church and state. 5 10.Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris (Little, Brown: $16.99) Comical tales of various Holiday traditions.111.The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow (Hyperion: $21.95) A professor's terminal cancer inspires a call to seize life's moments. 3112.Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown: $27.99) An exploration of the background of high-acheievers.113.Force of Nature by Laird Hamilton (Rodale Books: $27.95) A peek inside the life of the big wave surfer.214.When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris (Little, Brown: $25.99) Musings on life and smoking. 2315.The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss (Crown: $19.95) A blueprint for living life on your own terms. 14